Tag Archives: Thierry Henry

Alexis Sanchez, Pep Guardiola, Harry Kane

Alexis Sanchez

My first thought when I saw Alexis Sanchez’s petulant display after being substituted against Swansea was grow up. 24 hours on, my opinion is still the same.

Yes, I understand the defence some are putting up for him. That no player should like being substituted, and that Sanchez merely showed that he wants to play, and win. But Sanchez’s behaviour showed he needs to understand the game situation a bit more.

On the pitch he is a selfish player. A remarkable individual talent. At the likes of Udinese, and for Chile, he has been able to do what he wants. At Barcelona he had to be a team player, and struggled. At Arsenal he has shown similar behaviour patterns.

He lacks respect for management and seems to be unable to understand decisions mde that ultimately were correct.

I doubt anyone truly thinks Arsene Wenger was incorrect taking Sanchez off at 4-0. And if you do think he was incorrect, this is likely more to do with your anti-Wenger agenda than the actual decision. Had Wenger kept Sanchez on, and he got injured, you would have moaned even more.

It was Sanchez’s overall behaviour that disappointed me throughout the entire situation.

As he came off, fans who had travelled for 4 hours, on the road, on the train, with a replacement rail bus service, sang out his name. At no point did he acknowledge those fans. He then failed to acknowledge Arsene Wenger. Highlighting he has little respect for management.

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He then sat on the bench, with a coat over his head, crying. Man up son.

Sanchez is a world class player. At 28 he is one that many of the youngsters at the club will look up to, try to be like, try to emulate. Some have spoken in the past about how he should be Arsenal captain. But this strop was up there with William Gallas sitting in the centre circle away at Birmingham.

He has a responsibility as a senior member of the playing stuff to set a good example. I wonder what the likes of Ainsley Natiland-Niles and Jeff Adelaide thought. Impressionable young players, sitting on the bench, Sanchez did not even accept their well done’s.

Over at Chelsea, Eden Hazard was taken off with 15 minutes to go, Chelsea were 3-0 up. He shook the hand, or high fived, every player, every member of staff, on the Chelsea bench when coming off. He understood the game situation. Realised the game was one, knew he had done his job for the day. This is how I expect a senior, talented player to act.

Sanchez showed he thinks he is more important than Arsenal. I admire that he wants to play every minute of every game, but as a senior player he should know that the team is bigger than him, that he does not need to play every minute of every game.

If Sanchez’s behaviour was due to him being unhappy at the club, wanting to leave, then he knows where the door is. I support Arsenal, not Sanchez. Players come and go. We have lost bigger and better players than Alexis Sanchez.

It is Arsenal FC, not Sanchez FC.

Pep Guardiola

Has Pep Guardiola been found out in the Premier League?

Yesterday Everton thrashed his Manchester City side 4-0. Guardiola sat there in his dug out, motionless. Helpless. Changing nothing tactically. Making substitutions that made no difference. It was a Wenger-esque performance from the Spaniard.

Guardiola and Wenger are kindred spirits. Managers who believe in a certain way of playing, and will rarely change that way. Both hold the belief that you do not need to prepare for the opposition, that if you play your own game, and play well, you win, no matter what.

At Barcelona, this philosophy worked. But when you had extreme talents like Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi, managing is easy. The Barcelona squad was filled with intelligent, talented players. Guardiola just had to sit and watch.

At Bayern Munich it was no different. Guardiola took over a Munich team who had lost just 3 times in all competitions the previous year. A side that won the treble. Scoring 151 goals and conceding just 33. Again, like at Barcelona, he had it easy. In Europe the cracks began to show, however, as his side were knocked out at the Semi-Final stage of the Champions League in each of the 3 seasons.

When Sir Alex Ferguson left Manchester United, the club fell apart. Ferguson was the genius holding the club together. Barcelona have won 3 of the 4 La Liga’s since Guardiola left, and Bayern sit top of the Bundesliga, having lost just a single game all season. Neither club has gone backwards since Pep left. Proof, perhaps, that Pep had little to do with the success of both clubs.

And now he finds himself in the Premier League, and he looks a broken man. He has previously spoken about struggling mentality at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, in two leagues where there is not a great deal of intensity. I think he is struggling with the competitiveness of the Premier League.

In Germany and Spain, 70% of the sides lie down and die. In the Premier League, every game (unless you are playing Swansea) is ultra-competitive, full blooded. And that is where Guardiola is struggling.

He is struggling to get himself up for a tough game every weekend. Struggling to get his squad up for every game. The fact that he left his squad with just one striker – Sergio Aguero – shows just how much he has underestimated the Premier League.

Last season, Manchester City were 4th, 15 points off top. They currently sit 5th (I am writing this before the Man U v Liverpool game), 10 games off top. Guardiola has not taken City forward.

I honestly think he will leave City in the summer. Managing in the Premier League is too tough a challenge for him. After only ever having success in his career, he will not be able to cope with failure.

He has spoken about how he is already thinking of retiring. He is clearly not enjoying the job he has at City. I think his bottle will go and he will chuck it all in.

Statistics

I love statistics. Always have done, always will. But the statistics have to be relevant. Yesterday I saw a statistic doing the rounds that was just laughable:

Spurs striker (Harry Kane) has reached 62 Prem goals in fewer games than Arsenal legend Thierry Henry

If anyone can tell me why 62 Premier League goals is relevant, please leave an answer in the comments section below. 444

It is a statistic for statistics sake. Created to generate hits for the newspaper that produced it. To garner RT’s. Comparing Kane and Henry is laughable. Yes, Kane is showing himself to be a very good striker, but he has no where near the talent of Henry. Even the most die hard Spurs fan would admit that.

At 23, Henry had won the World Cup (where he finished his countries to scorer) and the European Championships. Harry Kane took a free kick that nearly hit the corner flag.

Kane is a good player, but lets see at the end of his career what he has won for Spurs before we compare him to one of the greatest players to have ever played in English football.

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC

How does Theo Walcott rank amongst Arsenal GREATS?

1 Reply

The man of the moment. The phoenix from the flames. Lazarus himself. Theo James Walcott.

He is in a superb being of form. Much has been written about it. Many have apologised. Although Lily Allen has yet to apologise to him on behalf of the entire country. He is back to the form of 2012/13 when he scored 21 goals in 43 games. The same season Gareth Bale had his glorious season for that lot up the road, scoring 26 in 44.

Then it went down hill. 2 years of injury followed by last year where he looked done, shot. Over. RIP Theo Walcott. Sleep with the fishes.

And then we come to this season. He has already hit 7 goals in just 9 games. He has hit 5 league goals in each of the last 3 seasons. He already has 5 this season after the first 5 games. In fact, this is already his 4^th highest scoring Premier League campaign. And the clocks have not even gone back yet.

Over 2 years ago, I wrote a blog about Theo Walcott. Would people love Theo Walcott if he had red hair?

Whilst the title was in jest, the comparison between Freddie Ljungberg was clear and obvious. A nice little table I did at the time highlighted how close they are in terms of out put.

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Theo Walcott is just 7 goals off the century. 100 goals for Arsenal. He has currently scored 21 goals more than Freddie Ljungberg. He is just 6 short of Paul Merson (who frustratingly fell 1 short of being able to raise his bat to the pavilion).

So just how does Theo Walcott rank amongst the best and brightest of Arsenal goal scorers?

top-scorers

Walcott is currently Arsenal’s 20^th highest all time top scorer. Scoring more than the likes of Alan Sunderland (92), Robert Pires (84), Charlie George (49), Ljungberg (72), George Armstrong (68), Liam Brady (59), Charlie Nicholas (54) and Kevin Campbell (59).

But he has played sooooo many games you all moan. Here’s another pretty table:

goals-to-games

Out of the 47 players who have scored over 50 goals for The Arsenal, Theo Walcott is 33^rd on the list when it comes to games to goals.

The might seem lowly, but it does not take penalties, has rarely played as a striker, and his 1 goal every 3.8 games is still better than other wingers such as Merson (4.3) and Ljungberg (4.6).

So where does Theo Walcott rank?

The answer is a lot better than some would think. He is certainly not one of the worst players to have played in an Arsenal shirt that some make him out to be.

If he continues current form, there is no reason why he should not break into the Top 10 Arsenal goal scorers in the next 18 months. Could he possibly make Top 5? Potentially.

Enjoy Middlesbrough. It’s my first game in nearly a month due to circumstances within my control. Will be good to have a booze up in the usual haunts with my pals.

Have a good weekend.

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC

The Curse of The Arsenal Captain

3 Replies

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Over the there have been a few curses on Arsenal Football Club.

We have The Curse of The Arsenal Number 9, which stretches back into the last millennium. Under Arsene Wenger, no one who has worn the number 9 shirt at Arsenal has ever really prospered for a long period of time. Paul Merson, Nicolas Anelka, Davor Suker, Francis Jeffers, Jose Antonio Reyes, Julio Baptista, Eduardo, Park Chu-Young and Lukas Podolski. All either failed at the club under Wenger, or were shipped out within a couple of seasons. Current holder of the shirt is Lucas Perez. The Curse of The Arsenal Number 9 has not yet been broken.

Then we have The Curse of The Invincibles. When you sell your soul to the devil for a donut, you pay a hefty price. No matter how tasty that donut is, you are forever cursed, forever owned, by the devil. A special place in hell is waiting for you where you are fed donuts for eternity.

And that is what Arsenal pretty much did when they went invincible. They sold their soul. Since that glorious day in May 2004, we have failed to win another title. It is as if it took half a century of luck, strength and ability, rolled it all together, into just a single season. Of course, the curse has slightly been chipped away with FA Cup wins, but until we win the Premier League title, the Curse of The Invincibles will continue to grow bigger in folklore.

Will The Curse of The Invincibles end up being like Mayo GAA? They have not won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship since 1951. The story go’s that they will not win another one until every member of the 1951 side is dead. They made the Final this year. Their 5^th in 12 seasons. They have lost them all…

Then we come on to The Curse of Aaron Ramsey. We all know how this one go’s. When Aaron Ramsey scores, someone important dies. From Osama bin Laden to Steve Jobs; Whitney Houston to Muammar Gaddafi, Paul Walker, Robin Williams, Richard Attenborough, David Bowie and Alan Rickman. What will it take for Piers Morgan to be added to the list? A hat trick?

It should be of no surprise therefore that over recent years, another curse has attached itself to Arsenal. The Curse of The Arsenal Captain.

13 – Premier League starts by Arsenal's captain in the last 3 seasons.

— Andy Kelly 🌍 (@Gooner_AK) August 8, 2016

2013-14 Vermaelen 7
2014-15 Arteta 6
2015-16 Arteta 0

— Andy Kelly 🌍 (@Gooner_AK) August 8, 2016

https://twitter.com/DarrenArsenal1/status/774593620649316353

For an Arsenal captain to have played just 13 games in the last 3 seasons is a shocking statistic.

Current club captain is Per Mertesacker. He is out injured until 2017. With his contract set to expire at the end of the year, talk has already begun that he might return to Hannover 96 on a free in the summer of 2017. A return to his home town club, the city of his birth, to see out his career.

When you add his injury and contract situation, alongside the current form of Laurent Koscielny & Shkodran Mustafi, the development of Rob Holding and the presence of Gabriel, a case could easily be made that we might never see Per Mertesacker in an Arsenal shirt again.

Never playing for Arsenal again is unlikely, but I would be very surprised if, when he does eventually return, he plays another 10 times for the club. He certainly will not make another 10 starts, and will only break in if injuries hit. Even with injuries, Wenger might be tempted to push through Gabriel or Holding, who are much more suited to our current high pressing, defend the half way line, game, than Mertesacker.

So after getting the arm band in the summer, the curse looks likely to hit again.

A little investigation shows this curse has been going on longer than the last 3 seasons. Maybe it will get renamed The Curse of Tony Adams?

Adams captained the club from March 1988 to 2002. 15 seasons as captain. In the next 15 seasons, Arsenal have had 8 captains.

First up was Patrick Vieira. He was long consider heir apparent to Tony Adams. A foreign leader for the foreign legion of Arsenal players. When he became Arsenal captain in 2002, he was 26 and looked set to become an Arsenal legend. He then spent his 3 years at Arsenal engineering a move away from the club before finally being sold in 2005 to Juventus. 3 years as captain.

Next up was Thierry Henry. Given the armband as talisman of the team. The best player, but not necessarily the best captain. He lasted 2 seasons. Then, like Vieira, engineered a move away from the club to Barcelona. Cheers T.

William Gallas was the surprise next choice as Arsenal captain. He was stripped of captaincy after a little more than a year after giving an unauthorised interview where he revealed tensions within the squad which were disruptive to team morale, and suggested that Arsenal’s younger players needed to show more courage if the team were to be successful.

Following up from Gallas was Cesc Fabregas. At the time people felt he maybe got the arm band too early. Barley 2, the argument was that if captain Arsenal young was good enough for Tony Adams, then Cesc could also step up. A young leader for a young team. He last 2 and a bit seasons, going on strike in his last season, heading to the Spanish Grand Prix rather than supporting the team, and buggered off the Barcelona.

It then fell to Robin van Persie to be Arsenal captain. A similar situation to Henry, he was basically given the armband to ensure he stayed at the club when, like with Henry, others around him were leaving. He did stay, for one season, before engineering a move to Manchester United.

Thomas Vermaelen was next in line. He looked an ideal fit. Had been at the club for 3 seasons. Was 26 years old. Was a guaranteed starter. Was an international regular. Was captain of Ajax before he joined us. Was a natural leader. The Arsenal captaincy resulted in injuries and lack of form and 2 years after being given the armband, he was sold to Barcelona.

Vermaelen was replaced by Mikel Arteta. At the time it was a questionable decision. Many pointed to the fact he was already not a 1^st team regular. His legs already going. Per Mertesacker was the fans choice in 2014. As captain Arteta started just 6 games. 612 minutes of Premier League football over 2 years. He retired.

Per Mertesacker finally got the armband this summer. An odd decision considering he was already out for the rest of the year injured. And with his contract expiring, likely to leave.

Arsene Wenger should bite the bullet now. Take the armband off Mertesacker and give it to Laurent Koscielny. The Frenchman has grown as a leader this season since the Euro’s. He seems to be revelling in being the senior partner.

Laurent Koscielny should be Arsenal captain, and hopefully break the curse.